Wellington, July 17 (JY&A Media) Mayoral candidate Jack Yan will take the opportunity of his campaign hui at Soi, at Greta Pt, tonight to talk of his themes of growing Wellington and unity.
Mr Yan talks not just of developing the economy—his 10-point growth plan and his entire manifesto have been available for public scrutiny since April—but of promoting cultural change within council, if elected.
He claims that with his experience in international business and effecting cultural changes through rebranding, he can improve the relationship the council has with its officers.
Having already established a good rapport with Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace—as with Mr Yan, a St Mark’s old boy—he says he is looking forward to getting on similar terms with Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy and Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett, as well as WCC CEO Kevin Lavery.
Mr Yan will also touch on transparency, to ensure that all public WCC documents are easily searchable, and pledges to remain accessible to the public via social networks and in person, as he has done ‘for the last six years’.
In an advance copy of his speech, he says, ‘Since the local government reforms of 1989, the majority of Wellington mayors have not been former councillors, and were able to unite their councils. I have established relationships with most councillors equally over the years, and we can have a united council, one which will get things done for the people of Wellington.
‘My campaign team is made up of left and right, united with a passion for Wellington. It is almost a microcosm of the views expressed at council and a demonstration of what this city can do when leadership inspires and plays to individuals’ strengths.’
The hui, which will see campaign supporters such as former mayor Sir Michael Fowler and former Miss Universe New Zealand Samantha Lochhead in attendance, will be giving 10 per cent of its proceeds to CanTeen, the only New Zealand organization that supports young people aged 13–24 living with cancer. A fashion show styled by Lucire fashion editor Sopheak Seng and directed by James Butters, and a live auction, will take place.

About Jack Yan
Jack Yan founded Jack Yan & Associates (http://jya.net), one of the world’s first virtual firms, in 1987, operating internationally. Among his company’s interests are business consulting, imaging, software and media, including the fashion magazine brand Lucire. He writes on topics, ranging from branding and business responsibility to fashion and typography, in numerous publications and journals worldwide and is a regular international speaker. He serves on the editorial board for The Journal of Brand Management. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Beyond Branding, Typography and Branding and, most recently, Nation Branding: Country Concepts and Cases. His personal site is at jackyan.com. He is a director of the Medinge Group (http://medinge.org), a think-tank in Sweden devoted to cutting-edge branding. He was one of the parties behind the successful bid for Miss Sweden in 2003 for Panos Emporio, and is general counsel of the Miss New Zealand Consortium, the New Zealand licensee for Miss Universe. Since 2006, he has been a mentor with Business Mentors New Zealand. In 2013, he announced his second bid for the mayoralty in Wellington, New Zealand, after netting 12 per cent of the vote on his first attempt.